THE AMAZING RACE #19 official thread. No Spoilers!! Premieres Sept. 25

[Sorsha]

In Season 3, Derek and Drew followed another team and ended up at the pit stop, but they had to go back because they didn't do a roadblock.

In this season, several teams failed to leave money at the orphanage and went to the pit stop, and they all were turned back and couldn't check in until they completed the skipped step.

In this case, Ernie/Cindy and Amani/Marcus also skipped a step. They did not discover where they should go, and ended up at the pit stop because their cabs took them there. So, yes, other times when someone skips a step, Phil does turn them back or otherwise penalize them (there are other examples, I just don't feel like researching all the right names. LOL!)

And I agree with you about Amani/Marcus and the cab taking them to the wrong detour because they did tell the cab where to go, and he instead took them to the detour everyone else was doing. That was wrong of the cabbie. But that's still not the same thing as skipping a step. I am sure that if the cabbie took them to Panama Vieja instead of the fish market or sandal making place, Phil would not have checked them in. He would have said "go back and do what you missed."

-LadyZolt

But this was not a case of SKIPPING A STEP!

In all of the other cases you cited, these were things that the teams had to do in order to advance. They HAD to complete the roadblock, they HAD to leave money at the orphanage - because it was on the directions on the clue. Yes, those are steps that must be followed, and obviously if they don't do them, they have to be sent back.

However last night, they were told to go to the square with the dancers, find out where to go to get to the Pit Stop, and make their way there to check in. They all DID go to the square, and then they all DID make their way to the Pit Stop. Nowhere in the instructions did it say "You may not work with any other teams" or "You may not follow any other teams" or "Your cab drivers may not work together." If the clue HAD said those things, then yes, they should suffer a penalty. As it stands, however, they did as the clue told them - went to the square, saw the dancers, and made their way to the Pit Stop - so no penalty is warranted.

Really, IMHO, this is no different from teams working together, or one team telling the other team the answer. We have seen it many times, they are running around towns, one team is lost, another team sees them, and says "The building (or whatever) is right down that street". Now the team that was lost gets to the building and proceeds on, but did THEY figure it out for themselves? No, the other team did, they just benefitted from it. No one suggests penalizing teams for cooperating.

ETA: A previous poster mentioned all the cab drivers having eachother on speed dial, etc. Did you notice they all drove those little yellow trucks? Itis my thought that maybe they all work for the same cab company and know eachother and work together regularily. In that case they would know to call eachother and say "Hey did you figure out where you are going? Its over here..." the cab drivers have no stake in maintaining the integrity of The Race, they just want to get paid - maybe tipped well if they get the Crazy Americans to the right spot?

 

[daughtersrus]

ETA: A previous poster mentioned all the cab drivers having eachother on speed dial, etc. Did you notice they all drove those little yellow trucks? Itis my thought that maybe they all work for the same cab company and know eachother and work together regularily. In that case they would know to call eachother and say "Hey did you figure out where you are going? Its over here..." the cab drivers have no stake in maintaining the integrity of The Race, they just want to get paid - maybe tipped well if they get the Crazy Americans to the right spot?

I have no idea what the actual cost was but I thought that I heard one of the teams say "$100 American dollars". I'm pretty sure that they showed Amani with a few 20's in her hand.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I missed the show on Sunday night so I'm watching it online now. I'm in the "amazingly disappointed" camp. Ernie & Cindy & Amani & Marcus were headed for the Balboa statue and/or Balboa Ave - just like the snowboarders. The danged cab drivers won it for them! I know they had a fantastic run and they won a LOT of great prizes but I really wanted to see them in the top 3. I would have been quite happy with Ernie & Cindy going on home.

I don't think there's anything to be done about this race - the snowboarders were robbed - but I really think there should be a "no collaberation between cab drivers - they take the racers exactly where the team in their cab tell them to go" rule put in place.

 

[Sorsha]

I don't think there's anything to be done about this race - the snowboarders were robbed - but I really think there should be a "no collaberation between cab drivers - they take the racers exactly where the team in their cab tell them to go" rule put in place.

Unfortunately, they have no control over the cab drivers. In general, the Racers just pick a random cab off the streets. The cab drivers are sometimes so incredibly ill-informed, they don't even know their own cities.

We can't have it both ways. Either the cab drivers are random drivers - which leaves open the possibility that the cab drivers may be pretty worthless, may get lost, and/or may choose to cooperate with other cab drivers; OR you can have cab drivers that are "planted" by The Race, under contract or under control of The Race, and can have rules laid out for them ("no cooperating with eachother"). However, if your drivers are under control of The Race, they will know what's going on and that takes the element of randomness away ("Why are these crazy Americans screaming at me and where are we going again??")

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't think there's anything to be done about this race - the snowboarders were robbed - but I really think there should be a "no collaberation between cab drivers - they take the racers exactly where the team in their cab tell them to go" rule put in place.

Then you're right back to the mistake made by a cab driver earlier in the same episode: taking a team to the wrong location, the one opposite of that which they requested. Not getting lost, not not knowing his own city - just plain going to the wrong roadblock.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Exactly! They've had cab drivers who have gotten lost, misunderstood, gotten flat tires, run out of gas--it's one of the random elements on the show. In this case, it benefitted two teams, but other races have gone a different way.

I see air travel in the same way--sometimes, one team has a great head start, catches an earlier flight...and gets delayed or diverted. It's unfair, but it happens. I don't think it's possible to remove every possible random element from the race, and still keep it interesting.

 

[MIGrandma]

Very disappointed the snowboarders went home. I was hoping they would win, since they have done the best overall during the race, they deserved to win. I don't think it was right that the one cab driver told the other cab drivers where to go. They shouldn't be able to do that. It's fine if teams want to help each other, but cab drivers shouldn't be able to.

Of the teams left I really don't care who wins.

Never really had a team that I absolutely hated this year.

 

[jen0610]

Very disappointed the snowboarders went home. I was hoping they would win, since they have done the best overall during the race, they deserved to win. I don't think it was right that the one cab driver told the other cab drivers where to go. They shouldn't be able to do that. It's fine if teams want to help each other, but cab drivers shouldn't be able to.

Of the teams left I really don't care who wins.

Never really had a team that I absolutely hated this year.

Without TAR contracting with cab companies to provide transportation, there is ZERO way to stop cab drivers from sharing info. Even in the cab ride interview, Jeremy and Sandy made the comment that they thought the cab driver was telling the others were to go. None of the racers - by what was aired - asked their drivers to get info or share the info they had. The racers had ZERO accountability in what actions their drivers took.

I - IMHO - do not want to see TAR contract cab/taxi drivers. I like the "you get what you get". Some legs they are all good drivers, others a couple really shine and a couple stink. It's all just a part of the luck of the game.

The only change you could make to make it fair across the board - make it so they racers have to drive themselves every where. Then it is completely based on what you as a racer does. But, that would be come a NIGHTMARE!!! Not just for the racers, but the crew.

I can tell you from living in Panama - there are areas that as a foreigner, you don't want to be in that area!! It can be as simple as making 1 wrong turn, going just a block or 2 the wrong way and you are in an area that you want nothing to do with. When we were stationed down there, there were area's that were strictly off limits to us.

 

[DMRick]

Often the cab drivers are sitting there in the middle of nowhere, just waiting for the TAR contestants. I don't think any of them had to go looking for a cab after this stop, did they? It seemed it was planned for them to be there this time (and many other times). It would be pretty simple, if the times they do contract for them, they tell them to not give info given by other teams.

I - IMHO - do not want to see TAR contract cab/taxi drivers. I like the "you get what you get". Some legs they are all good drivers, others a couple really shine and a couple stink. It's all just a part of the luck of the game.
.

 

[jrmasm]

Very disappointed the snowboarders went home. I was hoping they would win, since they have done the best overall during the race, they deserved to win. I don't think it was right that the one cab driver told the other cab drivers where to go. They shouldn't be able to do that. It's fine if teams want to help each other, but cab drivers shouldn't be able to.

Of the teams left I really don't care who wins.


Never really had a team that I absolutely hated this year.

The team that deserves to win is the team that crosses the finish line first.

 

[disneyjunkie]

The team that deserves to win is the team that crosses the finish line first.

It doesn't matter who came in first at the end of the other legs. The final leg is the leg that counts.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That was a surprise ending! I got confused at the end over who got where, how. And I can blame it on my old eyes , but I had to see that last clue about six times - and finally in the close-up - before I realized what it was. Notice that all four teams misinterpreted where/what the clue was, as well as what it meant.

Come to think of it, how DID the taxi drivers figure out where to go, when the racers couldn't?

I just watched tonight (and now can finally see why this thread was all a-twittering )...

When Phil said the clue to go to that location, they clearly showed that the name of the place was on the skirt AND a picture of the place was on the medallions. Either could have been used to get to that destination.

The team that came in first, he found the picture and drew it and showed it to the driver and the driver knew what it was. And then along the way, he communicated the information to the other drivers.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The team that deserves to win is the team that crosses the finish line first.

AMEN!

I may not like who wins in the races (or comes first in legs)--but as long as rules were adhered to, the team that crosses first...is all that matters.

My family was a bit upset with the end of this episode. I was disappointed, but there was no hijinks from any team that created the result.

The only thing I found presumptuous was Marcus' speech. Their decision to go to their desired detour helped them, but they got 3rd due to the collaboration of the drivers. They would likely have come in 4th if not for that. (Though no way to know for certain since we don't know how far the snowboarders were behind when all of this took place.)

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Very disappointed the snowboarders went home. I was hoping they would win, since they have done the best overall during the race, they deserved to win. I don't think it was right that the one cab driver told the other cab drivers where to go. They shouldn't be able to do that. It's fine if teams want to help each other, but cab drivers shouldn't be able to.

The only team that truly got the clue and should have come in first was the team that came in second. They lost out because their cab driver blabbed. And the snow boarders got eliminated because their cab driver wasn't in the loop. Two of the teams were headed to the same statue the snow borders had mistakenly gone too until their cabbies got the word. That truly stinks.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

The only team that truly got the clue and should have come in first was the team that came in second. They lost out because their cab driver blabbed. And the snow boarders got eliminated because their cab driver wasn't in the loop. Two of the teams were headed to the same statue the snow borders had mistakenly gone too until their cabbies got the word. That truly stinks.

I'm not sure what you mean. Jeremy and Sandy were the only team to figure out the clue and they came in first.

 

[onelilspark]

The only team that truly got the clue and should have come in first was the team that came in second. They lost out because their cab driver blabbed. And the snow boarders got eliminated because their cab driver wasn't in the loop. Two of the teams were headed to the same statue the snow borders had mistakenly gone too until their cabbies got the word. That truly stinks.

I'm not sure what you mean. Jeremy and Sandy were the only team to figure out the clue and they came in first.

Yeah, Cindy & Ernie and Marcus & Amani both had the clue wrong, but benefited from their cab drivers talking with Jeremy & Sandy's driver.

And Jeremy and Sandy did come in first.

 

[declansdad]

Booooooooo!!!!!!

 

[asta]

Yuck! The most disgusting winners ever.

 

[disneyjunkie]

That C+ student vs. A+ student comment was just awful.

 

[onelilspark]

Lame. It didn't seem like a particularly difficult last leg.